The coscomp Value & Cost Engineering Academy provides practical, value-driven & impactful learning experiences.

We offer companies in various industries comprehensive support throughout the entire product development process. This ranges from targeted manufacturing cost optimization for individual assemblies or components to complex products and systems. At our VCEAcademy, we offer customized workshops, training courses, and seminars tailored to your specific needs. We help you develop products that will remain competitive in the future and establish value and cost engineering within your organization.

VCEacademy - Workshops, Training & Education

As part of our services, we regularly organize events, webinars, seminars, workshops, and training sessions on key topics related to product success within the framework of value and cost engineering. At these events, we share the expertise we have gained over decades of product development. Our goal is to share our expertise with you and your employees through practical training tailored to your specific needs and detailed documentation. We provide you with the latest insights and developments in the fields of systems engineering, value & cost engineering, and life-cycle cost analysis (LCC) through practical, real-world case studies drawn from our numerous consulting projects.

Design to Cost (DtC) - BEST PRACTICE Workshop

We'll take you and your employees to the next level of value and cost engineering!

Design-to-cost is an approach in which products are developed from the outset with the aim of being cost-efficient by taking cost aspects into account during the design process. Cost-cutting measures are identified and implemented in order to achieve the cost target.

WHY - Design-to-Cost BEST PRACTICE Workshop? = Understand costs. Identify opportunities. Reduce costs sustainably.

Design-to-Cost training helps companies manage costs early on and systematically, rather than having to address them only during production. It provides transparency regarding cost drivers, promotes cross-functional thinking, and highlights specific methods for developing products that are more cost-effective, efficient, and market-oriented. This results in solutions that better balance quality, customer value, and manufacturing costs.

WHO - Design-to-Cost BEST PRACTICE Workshop?

The course is designed for development managers, procurement managers, project managers, and the entire development team working on interdisciplinary industrial projects. It is particularly well-suited for mixed teams from departments such as engineering, product development, design, production, quality, sales, business development, or controlling.

To facilitate in-depth discussion and hands-on exercises, the number of participants is limited to 8–10 people.

METHODICAL FRAMEWORK - Design-to-Cost BEST PRACTICE Workshop

1. FRAME: Analysis of the Current Situation (Current Cost Structure)
2. EXPOSE: Potential Analysis & Cost Modeling (Parametic 4cost ACES)
3. CHALLENGE & QUANTIFY: Document the status quo, ideation (developing DtC ideas), and confidence (reliability) levels
4. ACTIVATE: Prepare for structured implementation.

We apply the scientifically developed and well-founded coscomp VCE framework—created by Dr. Raphael Schlup and his team—directly to a specific real-world design-to-cost example. Working as a cross-functional team, we develop fundamental principles for cost reduction and devise approaches for systematically lowering manufacturing costs. We then compare our results with other solutions that have already been implemented.

WHERE - Design-to-Cost BEST PRACTICE Workshop?

The workshop will take place in the inspiring and historic venues of the “Greater Zurich Area.” We are also happy to accommodate your preferences and hold the workshop at a location of your choice.

It is recommended that the event be held at an external, neutral venue to open up new perspectives and facilitate an unobstructed view of key issues.

WHEN - Design-to-Cost BEST PRACTICE Workshop?

Please refer to the list below for the available workshop dates. The maximum number of participants per workshop is limited to 8 to 10 people. This allows us to best address the individual needs of the participants.

• Guaranteed to run with a minimum of 1 person / Prices exclude VAT.
• If you'd like to hold an exclusive workshop with your team, please feel free to contact us. Together, we'll find a date that works for you.

WHO are your training and coaching experts in the Design-to-Cost BEST PRACTICE Workshop?

Dr. Raphael Schlup: “Design-to-Cost means managing costs before they arise.”
Raphael Schlup combines many years of industry and consulting experience with in-depth academic expertise in value and cost engineering. As a co-founder of coscomp and a Ph.D. expert in value and cost engineering, he focuses intensively on the question of how product costs can be specifically influenced early in the development process. In the Design-to-Cost training course, he teaches—in a practical, methodical, and implementation-oriented manner—how to consistently align technical solutions, customer value, and target costs, with the goal of developing more competitive and profitable products.

Dominic Schüpbach: “Good cost modeling doesn’t just make costs visible—it makes them understandable, comparable, and manageable at an early stage.”
Dominic Schüpbach combines methodical design-to-cost with modern parametric cost modeling. His focus is on making costs transparent and manageable early in the development process, even when only limited technical information is available. As a co-founder of coscomp and an experienced user of the 4cost ACES software, he demonstrates in a practical way how product ideas, technical parameters, and cost drivers can be systematically translated into reliable cost models. In the training course, he explains how design-to-cost can evolve from a mere cost-reduction initiative into a structured development and decision-making process.

Design for Manufacturing (DFM) & Design for Assembly (DFMA) - BEST PRACTICE Workshop

We'll take you and your employees to the next level of value and cost engineering!

Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) is an approach that focuses on the development of products taking into account manufacturing and assembly aspects. The aim is to optimize product design in order to make production and assembly simpler, more efficient and more cost-effective.

By implementing design for manufacturing and assembly principles, companies can reduce manufacturing costs, improve product quality, reduce time to market and increase overall manufacturing efficiency. DFMA promotes collaboration between designers, manufacturing engineers and other stakeholders to ensure that product design is optimized for efficient production and assembly.

• Guaranteed to run with a minimum of 1 person / Prices exclude VAT.
• If you'd like to hold an exclusive workshop with your team, please feel free to contact us. Together, we'll find a date that works for you.